A Baseball Writer Who Was Born for the Beat

Our guest on Monday knew at a very young age that he wanted baseball to be part of his life. As fate would have it, that wasn’t going to happen as a player.Some people seem born for their names. Judges judge. Farmers farm. Bakers bake. And then there’s Jared Diamond.A diamond, of course, is the shape of a baseball field. Not every Diamond becomes a baseball writer, but if you’re going to spend your career covering America’s pastime for The Wall Street Journal, it doesn’t hurt to have a memorable surname.My Potluck podcast guest this week was sports journalist Jared Diamond, the national baseball writer for The Wall Street Journal. Jared has covered Major League Baseball for more than a decade, including assignments following both the New York Mets and New York Yankees before taking on his current national role. He joined the Journal in 2011 after graduating from Syracuse University’s renowned S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications.Jared is also the author of the bestselling book Swing Kings: The Inside Story of Baseball’s Home Run Revolution, an inside look at the data, technology, and personalities that transformed modern baseball. His reporting has taken him deep into some of the sport’s biggest stories, from the Astros sign-stealing scandal to labor disputes, gambling controversies, and the changing economics of professional sports.One of the most interesting parts of our conversation had nothing to do with baseball.Jared believes artificial intelligence is already changing sports and journalism, but not in the way many people fear. While he uses AI regularly for research and reporting support, he doesn’t use it to write. Instead, he sees it as a tool that can make journalists more efficient. The real value, he argues, will shift toward original reporting because AI can only analyze information that is already public. It cannot uncover stories that haven’t yet been reported.In Jared’s view, the ability to discover new information — the essence of reporting — is “AI-proof” and may become even more valuable in the years ahead.We also had terrific audience participation from Iowa Writers’ Collaborative members Chuck Offenburger, Rob Gray, Bob Leonard and Barry Piatt, along with Potluck readers Tim Grover and Brice Oakley.Chuck was first up with a question many of us were wondering: How in the world did a young sportswriter land one of the most coveted jobs in journalism?The podcast actually begins with Jared’s answer. Due to pilot error (me), I neglected to restart the recording after our opening conversation.As it turns out, Diamond joined The Wall Street Journal almost by accident. After graduating from Syracuse University and completing an internship at the Virginian-Pilot, he learned that a former mentor was launching a sports section at the Journal. A simple email led to a job, then a baseball assignment, and ultimately a 15-year career covering the sport.Today he enjoys extraordinary freedom to pursue stories that interest him rather than chasing transactions and breaking news.He described his role as looking for stories that reveal something larger about baseball, business, culture, or human nature. Unlike many national baseball reporters, Diamond isn’t interested in being first with trade rumors or contract signings. Instead, he searches for stories no one else is telling and that wouldn’t exist without original reporting.Diamond credits much of his success to Syracuse University’s student newspaper, The Daily Orange, where editors painstakingly reviewed and improved his work. He also emphasized a lesson that applies far beyond sports: Writers don’t need to be experts in a subject to tell compelling stories. Curiosity, fresh eyes and an interest in people matter more than encyclopedic knowledge.Another topic that generated discussion was sports gambling. Diamond expressed deep concern about its rapid growth, calling it “an incredible net negative for sports.” He worries that a generation of young people has grown up with betting apps such as FanDuel and believes the long-term consequences are only beginning to emerge. He suggested that sports leagues are just starting to understand the risks gambling poses to the games themselves.Throughout the conversation, Diamond returned to a theme that would resonate with any writer: Whether covering baseball, politics, business or the Olympics, the best stories are ultimately about people.Statistics, analytics and technology have transformed sports. Human stories remain at the center of why readers care.OkobojiTick tock. The Early Bird discount ends July 5.If you’ve been thinking about joining us in Okoboji this fall, now is the time.This retreat is going to be the best one yet. Five literary agents. New memoir coaches. Bestselling authors. Journalists. Songwriters. Filmmakers. A community of people who understand what it means to create something from nothing.Whether you’re just beginning to imagine a project or arriving with a manuscript under your arm, you’ll find encouragement, practical advice and fellow travelers on the path.All skill levels are welcome. The expert was once a novice.Come. Our T-shirt theme this year: Courage is contagious. Iowa Writers’ CollaborativeI am delighted to be a founding member of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. On July 7, Richard and I will host a special gathering for paid subscribers of the Iowa Down Ballot podcast.Dave Price, Kathie Obradovich and Laura Belin are among the sharpest political observers in Iowa. Together, they provide reporting, analysis and context that help make sense of an increasingly complicated political landscape.Independent journalism doesn’t happen by accident. It requires readers who value it enough to support it. We are grateful to the paid subscribers who help make Iowa Down Ballot possible, and we look forward to thanking them in person for sustaining this important work.If you can join us from 4-6:30 p.m. on July 7, please RSVP and we will get you the location information. Please subscribe to Iowa Down Ballot: This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit okobojiwriters.substack.com/subscribe